Monday, July 15, 2013

Holmes on High River

Here's an article I found from the High River Times about Mike Holmes' visit to High River, Alberta on Friday. While there, Mike addressed a crowd of people at the rodeo grounds, doing what he could to lift people's spirits. He reassured them that although the cleanup effort would take time and patience, things would get better. He stressed the importance of safety and following the prompts of the officials in charge of the relief efforts. Mike posted several pictures from his tour of the flood-ravaged areas on his Facebook page, spurring many people to post their thanks and gratitude for his visit. Mike has publicly stated that he has made a donation to the Canadian Red Cross, and has urged others to do the same. During his address to the people of High River, he praised relief organizations such as the Red Cross and the Salvation Army for their hard work.

One interesting tidbit from the article I'd like to highlight... Mike will apparently be making it right for one lucky family, and has something up his sleeve for 500 more families.

"Holmes said he couldn’t fix everyone’s home, but that he’s here to make it right for one family and help up to 500 other homes through a contractor package he’s developing.
He said High River will see a lot of him and that it’s going to take a lot of money and the right people to make the worst situation to ever hit High River right again."

For more information about Mike's trip to High River, please refer to previous Holmes Spot blog entries:

Mike Holmes in High River - Video
Mike Holmes Visits High River - Pictures
Holmes to the Rescue!
Rebuilding After the Flood

 

From the High River Times:

Holmes on High River 

By Kevin Rushworth, High River Times
KEVIN RUSHWORTH HIGH RIVER TIMES/QMI AGENCY. Mike Holmes, star of television's Holmes on Homes and Holmes Inspection, visited High River in an attempt to give people tips and start to make things right.
KEVIN RUSHWORTH HIGH RIVER TIMES/QMI AGENCY. Mike Holmes, star of television's Holmes on Homes and Holmes Inspection, visited High River in an attempt to give people tips and start to make things right.
By Kevin Rushworth
EDITOR

Mike Holmes, star of television’s Holmes on Homes and Holmes Inspections, brought his straight forward, no bones about it, matter of fact contractor skills that have made him famous to flood-ravaged High River Saturday night.
Though ‘making it right’ is going to take a lot of work, the right licensed officials, Holmes said it’s going to take one thing from residents—patience.
As part of the information session held at the rodeo grounds Saturday night, Holmes uplifted the audience, got them cheering, laughing and learning that things will be better.
“You need a proper green light from the right officials who say it’s safe to go back to your home,” Holmes said. “Do what’s necessary to take care of (yourself) and your loved ones around you. That’s all you can do.”
Holmes, who taped a show on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, told the crowd it took six weeks to pump out the lower ninth ward of New Orleans.
“From what I see, the Red Cross, the Salvation Army and the emergency response team that came in, I am so impressed with everything they’ve done,” he said, receiving a huge cheer from the crowd.
On Saturday, July 13, Holmes said he was in both Calgary and the worst hit regions of High River. He said he has a lot of concerns.
“When there’s devastation from a flood like this one, there’s more to follow, “ he said. “It’s the aftermath, it’s the crazy world of displacing people, it’s the things you’ve lost in your home.”
However, he said the largest problems come from the stage of trying to fix the problems at hand.
“Let’s talk about mold,” he said, addressing the crowd. “How many people here think their houses have mold that have been soaked.”
After waiting for countless hands to rise in the grandstand, Holmes said mold grows after 24 hours. It’s been 22 days since some residents have seen their homes.
“Do not use bleach and you know what, you’re not even supposed to touch it,” Holmes said. “The rule of thumb and it’s not my rule, it’s a bylaw, is that anything over 10 square feet must be cleaned by guys licensed to do this.”
Holmes asked the crowd whether or not they thought the situation would be solved in weeks, months or years to which the crowd shouted out ‘years.’
“Years,” he said. “It’s going to take patience from you; it’s going to take a team of people from the government and everyone else to make this right.”
He said he witnessed homes having electricity when all of the panels had been underwater only days before.
“Your electricity should not be turned on until a licensed electrical contractor signs off on it,” he said.
When it came down to cleaning out basements and even first floors, Holmes said almost everything in the basement must be turfed due to the toxicity of the material.
“From every bad comes a good and you have to realize this,” he said. “We can make the best of this. Right now, your families are safe.”
For those who are dealing with the most severely damaged, mold infested homes, he warned people about returning home.
“For those in the green area, that’s of much better shape than those in the red area,” he said. “You need to be careful to hire the right people.”
Holmes said he couldn’t fix everyone’s home, but that he’s here to make it right for one family and help up to 500 other homes through a contractor package he’s developing.
He said High River will see a lot of him and that it’s going to take a lot of money and the right people to make the worst situation to ever hit High River right again.
The High River Times caught up with Mike Holmes after his address to the crowd and he stressed the importance of patience.
“They shouldn’t go back into the house until they have a green light from someone who knows what their doing in the business,” he said.
“Until it’s an actual licensed company that has mold abatement clears that house or works through an insurance company, no one should enter that house,” he explained.
He said he felt the emergency operations team had performed admirably keeping people out of their unsafe homes.
When asked about tips for the clean-up, he said people must carefully consider each and every step taken from making sure homes were safe, salvaging items and ultimately, hiring contractors.
“Anyone can just come in,” he said, referring to poor contractors. “You have to check their licenses. Don’t move quickly, go slow. Every single person here must move slowly in every direction.”
Though he said he understands the emotions of losing everything, he said people have to take their lives into consideration.
“If everyone’s alive from this one, that’s a really good thing,” Holmes said. “The clean-up is going to take a long time and patience is going to be the number one thing people need. Without it, things are going to be ugly and that’s not good.”

1 comment:

  1. So did Mike donate any of the proceeds from this episode to the flood relief effort????

    ReplyDelete